Feedback

Here’s how I recommend responding to customer feedback:

1. Stay humble.
2. Don’t take it personally.
3. Accept that not everyone will like you.
4. If you turn off replies on a post, you already lost.
5. Don’t use humor or sarcasm when they’re upset.
6. Don’t use corpospeak. Speak plainly, without jargon.
7. If you don’t know the answer, admit it and say what you’re doing to find out.
8. Make people feel heard. Behind almost every frustrated customer is real, useful feedback.
9. Be kind and empathetic when responding to negative feedback, even if they don’t deserve it.
10. Don’t reject feedback outright. That just makes people defend themselves.
11. When you write in public, write for the secondary audience, not just the angry user.
12. Explain, don’t defend. The same facts can sound bitter or transparent depending on how you share them.
13. Take more responsibility than seems necessary. Take so much ownership that it surprises people.
14. Remember everything you post shapes a narrative. Sometimes it’s worth responding carefully because it will matter to spectators.
15. If you present yourself as bragging or cocky, people will be more likely to try to knock you down a peg.
16. When discussing deeply technical topics, be detailed, calm, factual, and empathetic to their concerns.
17. If you apologize, fully commit. State the problem, explain the fix, and share what you’re doing to prevent it. Only apologize if you truly mean it.

And sometimes, you just have to post through it. Not everyone is going to like you.